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The birds of the air

My husband and I spent a few precious days at our home away from home in the mountains this past weekend. Life grows stiller there for us, and we come back home rejuvenated for the tasks that lie ahead.

During this past trip, I called my mom, and she asked in a quiet, hopeful voice, “Have you seen any hummingbirds yet?”

A few weeks back, one hummingbird buzzed by the house, hoping for the feeder of sugar water because the cold, wet spring had made the flowers shy to bloom. It had been a miserably wet weekend, and though I hadn’t yet put out the hummingbird feeder, thinking it too early for them to have come back for the season, we had put seed out for other birds. And they came in droves to show off their finery and eat their fill.

A male rose-breasted grosbeak enjoys a meal in the pouring rain.

Posing for the camera?

Sharing the feeder with a cardinal

Waiting his turn at the feeder as the rain pours all around

This trip, as I sat on the porch swing enjoying a beautiful day, I looked out and saw the tiniest of creatures perched on a tree nearby. (In case you were wondering, yes, my husband teases me about having x-ray vision, a feature I cherish even as it slips away with age.)

Will you feed me this time?

The flowers had begun blooming, and shades of pink in the garden must have encouraged this tiny hummingbird to visit, but to see him resting so still on a tree branch, almost looking at me asking for the feeder this time – well, I went right inside and mixed up a batch of sugar water to fill the feeder.

Early rhododendron blooms

Waiting patiently

Finally! A hummingbird rewards me with a familiar buzzing that seems to vibrate the air all around.

Hummingbirds are not easy to photograph, by the way. At least not for me. I so rarely see them sitting so still for so long, but this one seemed to enjoy a spot in the sun near the feeder:

Still perched. Perched still.

A striking profile

This beautiful singer distracted me from the hummingbird for a bit as it hid — and sang — lower down in the trees.

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life … Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26)

4 thoughts on “The birds of the air”

I, too, am enjoying watching for what kind of birds come to the bird feeder. Mostly, cardinals, male and female, blue Jays, Mockingbirds, (I think). I have learned some of the chirps or calls. It’s fun to run out on the patio when I hear a certain chirp, and think I know what kind of bird it is. Have not tried to feed Hummingbirds, but we have them. I know.

Thanks, Jackie! I loved seeing the hummingbird sit so still, because it’s not something I usually see. So I was thrilled to capture it with my camera. I have no idea if over-active woodpeckers signal anything, but maybe it has been an idea spring for the kinds of critters they like to eat.